Crutch attachment



(No Model.)

W. J. DONALD.

GRUTGH ATTACHMENT.

No. 390,011; Patented Sept. 25, 1888.

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WILLIAM J. DONALD, OF TUNNEL CITY, WISCONSIN.

CRUTCH ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,011, datedSeptember 25, 1888.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. DONALD, of Tunnel City, in the county ofMonroe and State of WVisconsin, have invented a new and Improved OrutchAttachment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention is an improvement in that class of crutches which have anelastic foot and a spur, either of which may be adjusted for use alone,as conditions require.

The invention consists in an attachment for the lower end of a crutchconstructed and arranged as hereinafter described and claimed.

. in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts inall the views.

Figure 1 illustrates the invention attached to the lower end of acrutch. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa plan view of the elastic foot or buffer detached, and Fig. 4 is a planview looking at the under side of the attachment.

The attachment consists of a metallic socketpiece, 1, having a socket,2, in which is located the correspondiugly-shaped end 3 of the lowerend, 4, of a crutch, secured in place by a screw, 5.

The socket-piece l is formed with a screwthreaded projection, 6, havinga pointed end, 7, which serves as the spur for the crutch, to be usedfor slippery surfaces. Upon the projection 6 is mounted an elasticbuffer or foot, 8, of rubber or other-suitable material, formed with ahole, 9, in line with a screw-threaded hole, 10, in a lug, 11, insertedin the upper part of the buffer 8, and depending from a metallic plate,12, secured by screws 13 to the top of the latter.

The screw-threaded lug 11 engages the screwthreaded projection 6, and bythis means the buffer 8 is adjustable upon the projection 6, so that byscrewing it up the spur 7 will project through the lower end of hole 9for use, and by unscrewing it the spur 7 will be withdrawn into thebuffer 8, whereby the latter will serve as an elastic foot for thecrutch.

The buffer 8 is preferably formed with a number of sides, 14, by meansof which the buffer 8 will not have to be handled in interchanging itfor use with the spur 7, it only being necessary to extend the crutchand rest the buffer 8 on its side, and then by rolling it on the groundor a floor to screw or unscrew the buffer on the projection 6, therebyprojecting or withdrawing the spur 7.

By means of this invention a crutch attachment is provided which issimple in construction,and by means of which the foot of a crutch can bereadily converted into aspur or an elastic buffer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An attachment for crutches, consisting of a piece to be attached tothe lower end of a crutch, formed with a screw-threaded projectionhaving a pointed end, an elastic buffer having a perforation throughwhich the screwthreaded projection extends, and a screwthreadedconnection by means of which the bulfer is vertically adjustable on thescrewthreaded projection, substantially as shown and described.

2. An attachment for crutches, consisting of an attaching piece formedwith a screwthreaded projection having a pointed end, and a polygonalelastic buffer screwing onto the screw-threaded projection, extendingthrough the buffer and vertically adjustable over its point,substantially as shown and described.

\VILLIAM J. DONALD.

\Vitnesses:

RUDoLn ANDRES, CHRISTIAN H. WIKLUND.

